Apparatus that presents result of recognition of recognition target

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and a method capable of accurately recognizing that a person will appear on a road and certainly notifying the person that an autonomous moving body has recognized a place where the person will appear are disclosed. An apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure detects, as a recognition target, a person appearance area, in which a person will appear, formed by a recognition target presentation apparatus on a road and presents, to the person, a result of recognition indicating that the autonomous moving body has recognized the person appearance area as a result of the detection of the recognition target.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a recognition result presentationapparatus and a method for presenting a result of recognition thatpresent a result of recognition of a recognition target presented by arecognition target presentation apparatus in a moving direction of anautonomous moving body. The present disclosure also relates to arecognition target presentation apparatus and a method for presenting arecognition target that present a recognition target recognizable by anautonomous moving body.

2. Description of the Related Art

During these years, autonomous vehicles are being developed. Ifautonomous vehicles become widespread in the future, valet parking willbe performed by the autonomous vehicles. In this case, an autonomousvehicle passes by a vehicle that has already stopped, but a persongetting out of the stationary vehicle can't tell whether he/she has beenrecognized by the autonomous vehicle and determine whether he/she canwalk in front of the autonomous vehicle.

In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-327041,for example, when a sliding door of a vehicle is open, a light sourceunit of a light emission device directly radiates light downward fromthe sliding door. As a result, for example, a road surface isilluminated to attract attention from pedestrians and drivers ofvehicles behind and beside.

SUMMARY

In the above example of the related art, however, although a driver of avehicle behind can recognize that a person is getting out since a roadsurface below a sliding door is illuminated, it is difficult, if thevehicle behind is an autonomous vehicle, for the autonomous vehicle torecognize that the person is getting out. Improvements, therefore, arenecessary.

One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment presents a recognition resultpresentation apparatus, a method for presenting a result of recognition,a recognition target presentation apparatus, and a method for presentinga recognition target capable of accurately recognizing that a personwill appear on a road and certainly notifying the person that a placewhere the person will appear has been recognized by an autonomous movingbody.

In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature arecognition result presentation apparatus that presents a result ofrecognition of a recognition target presented by a recognition targetpresentation apparatus in a moving direction of an autonomous movingbody. The recognition result presentation apparatus includes a detectorthat detects, as the recognition target, a person appearance area, inwhich a person will appear, formed by the recognition targetpresentation apparatus on a road and a presenter that presents, to theperson, a result of recognition indicating that the autonomous movingbody has recognized the person appearance area as a result of thedetection of the recognition target performed by the detector.

According to the present disclosure, it can be accurately recognizedthat a person will appear on a road, and the person can be certainlynotified that an autonomous moving body has recognized a place where theperson will appear.

It should be noted that general or specific embodiments may beimplemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computerprogram, a storage medium, or any selective combination thereof.

Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments willbecome apparent from the specification and drawings. The benefits and/oradvantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments andfeatures of the specification and drawings, which need not all beprovided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/oradvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of anautonomous vehicle according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a recognition target presentationapparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a recognitionresult presentation apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the recognitiontarget presentation apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating formation of a personappearance area according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the recognitionresult presentation apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating capture of an image,detection of a person appearance area, and conversion of coordinates inthe captured image according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a recognitiontarget according to a first modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to a second modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to a third modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to a fourth modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to a fifth modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to a sixth modification of the first embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to a seventh modification of the first embodiment;and

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a recognitionresult presentation apparatus according to a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Underlying Knowledge Forming Basis of Present Disclosure

As described above, if autonomous vehicles become widespread in thefuture, valet parking will be performed by the autonomous vehicles. Inthis case, an autonomous vehicle passes by a vehicle that has alreadystopped, but a person getting out of the stationary vehicle can't tellwhether he/she has been recognized by the autonomous vehicle anddetermine whether he/she can walk in front of the autonomous vehicle.

In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-327041,for example, when a sliding door of a vehicle is open, a light sourceunit of a light emission device directly radiates light downward fromthe sliding door. As a result, for example, a road surface isilluminated to attract attention from pedestrians and drivers ofvehicles behind and beside.

In the technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2003-327041, however, although a driver of a vehiclebehind can recognize that a person is getting out since a road surfacebelow a sliding door is illuminated, it is difficult, if the vehiclebehind is an autonomous vehicle, for the autonomous vehicle to recognizethat the person is getting out.

It can be difficult for an autonomous vehicle to recognize a persongetting out of a vehicle ahead especially because the person can behidden behind a vehicle body or a door.

A recognition result presentation apparatus according to an aspect ofthe present disclosure is a recognition result presentation apparatusthat presents a result of recognition of a recognition target presentedby a recognition target presentation apparatus in a moving direction ofan autonomous moving body. The recognition result presentation apparatusincludes a detector that detects, as the recognition target, a personappearance area, in which a person will appear, formed by therecognition target presentation apparatus on a road and a presenter thatpresents, to the person, a result of recognition indicating that theautonomous moving body has recognized the person appearance area as aresult of the detection of the recognition target performed by thedetector.

With this configuration, a person appearance area, in which a personwill appear, formed by the recognition target presentation apparatus ona road is detected as a recognition target. A result of recognitionindicating that an autonomous moving body has recognized the personappearance area as a result of the detection of the recognition targetis presented to the person.

Since not the person but the person appearance area, in which a personwill appear, formed by the recognition target presentation apparatus onthe road is detected, it can be accurately recognized that the personwill appear on the road. In addition, since the result of therecognition indicating that the autonomous moving body has recognizedthe person appearance area as a result of the detection of therecognition target is presented to the person, the person can becertainly notified that the autonomous moving body has recognized theplace where the person will appear.

In addition, in the recognition result presentation apparatus, thepresenter may include a light radiator that radiates light onto theperson appearance area.

With this configuration, a person can be certainly notified, throughlight radiated onto a person appearance area, that an autonomous movingbody has recognized the person appearance area.

In addition, in the recognition result presentation apparatus, the lightradiator may radiate light having a same shape as the person appearancearea onto the person appearance area and light having a linear shapeonto ground between the person appearance area and the autonomous movingbody.

With this configuration, a person can be certainly notified, throughlight having the same shape as a person appearance area radiated ontothe person appearance area and light having a linear shape radiated ontothe ground between the person appearance area and an autonomous movingbody, that the autonomous moving body has recognized the personappearance area.

In addition, in the recognition result presentation apparatus, the lightradiator may radiate light of a color different from a color of theperson appearance area the person appearance area to change the color ofthe person appearance area.

With this configuration, a person who will appear in a person appearancearea can understand that an autonomous moving body has recognized theperson appearance area by seeing a change in the color of the personappearance area and determine how to act against the autonomous movingbody, that is, whether to walk in front of the autonomous moving body.

In addition, in the recognition result presentation apparatus, the lightradiator may project an image including a text indicating that theautonomous moving body has recognized the person appearance area ontothe person appearance area.

With this configuration, a person can be certainly notified, through atext indicating that an autonomous moving body has recognized a personappearance area, that the autonomous moving body has recognized theperson appearance area.

In addition, in the recognition result presentation apparatus, the lightradiator may project an image including a pattern indicating that theautonomous moving body has recognized the person appearance area ontothe person appearance area.

With this configuration, a person can be certainly notified, through apattern indicating that an autonomous moving body has recognized aperson appearance area, that the autonomous moving body has recognizedthe person appearance area.

In addition, in the recognition result presentation apparatus, the lightradiator may radiate the light only within a part of the personappearance area across which the autonomous moving body will run.

With this configuration, since light is radiated only within a part of aperson appearance area across which an autonomous moving body will run,a person who will appear in the person appearance area can understand anarea across which the autonomous moving body will run, that is, an arearecognized by the autonomous moving body.

In addition, in the recognition result presentation apparatus, thepresenter may include a sound outputter that outputs a certain sound ina direction in which the person appearance area exists.

With this configuration, a person can be certainly notified, through acertain sound output in a direction in which a person appearance areaexists, that an autonomous moving body has recognized the personappearance area.

In addition, the recognition result presentation apparatus may furtherinclude an image capturer that captures an image of a scene in themoving direction of the autonomous moving body. The detector may detectthe person appearance area included in the image. The presenter mayinclude a display that displays, on a front surface of the autonomousmoving body, an image in which the person appearance area detected bythe detector is indicated in a distinguishable manner.

With this configuration, an image of a scene in a moving direction of anautonomous moving body is captured. A person appearance area included inthe image is detected. The display arranged on a front surface of theautonomous moving body displays an image in which the detected personappearance area is indicated in a distinguishable manner.

A person, therefore, can be certainly notified, through the image thatis displayed on the display arranged on the front surface of theautonomous moving body and in which the detected person appearance areais indicated in a distinguishable manner, that the autonomous movingbody has recognized the person appearance area.

In addition, in the recognition result presentation apparatus, therecognition target presentation apparatus may form the person appearancearea by radiating, onto the road, light of a certain color detectable bythe detector.

With this configuration, since the recognition target presentationapparatus forms a person appearance area by radiating, onto a road,light of a certain color detectable by the detector, an autonomousmoving body can certainly recognize the person appearance area.

In addition, in the recognition result presentation apparatus, therecognition target presentation apparatus may form the person appearancearea by radiating, onto the road, light having a certain patterndetectable by the first apparatus in the detecting.

With this configuration, since the recognition target presentationapparatus forms a person appearance area by radiating, onto a road,light having a certain pattern detectable by the detector, an autonomousmoving body can certainly recognize the person appearance area.

In addition, in the recognition result presentation apparatus, therecognition target presentation apparatus may form the person appearancearea by radiating, onto the road, temporally changing light detectableby the first apparatus in the detecting.

With this configuration, since the recognition target presentationapparatus forms a person appearance area by radiating, onto a road,temporally changing light detectable by the detector, an autonomousmoving body can certainly recognize the person appearance area.

A method for presenting a result of recognition according to anotheraspect of the present disclosure is a method for presenting a result ofrecognition used in a recognition result presentation apparatus thatpresents a result of recognition of a recognition target presented by arecognition target presentation apparatus in a moving direction of anautonomous moving body. The method includes detecting, as therecognition target, a person appearance area, in which a person willappear, formed by the second apparatus on a road and presenting, to theperson, a result of recognition indicating that the autonomous movingbody has recognized the person appearance area as a result of thedetecting.

With this configuration, a person appearance area, in which a personwill appear, formed by the recognition target presentation apparatus ona road is detected as a recognition target. A result of recognitionindicating that an autonomous moving body has recognized the personappearance area as a result of the detection of the recognition targetis presented to the person.

Since not the person but the person appearance area, in which a personwill appear, formed by the recognition target presentation apparatus onthe road is detected, it can be accurately recognized that the personwill appear on the road. In addition, since the result of therecognition indicating that the autonomous moving body has recognizedthe person appearance area as a result of the detection of therecognition target is presented to the person, the person can becertainly notified that the autonomous moving body has recognized theplace where the person will appear.

A recognition target presentation apparatus according to another aspectof the present disclosure is a recognition target presentation apparatusthat presents a recognition target recognizable by an autonomous movingbody. The recognition target presentation apparatus includes an areaformation determiner that determines whether to form a person appearancearea, which is the recognition target and in which a person will appear,on a road and an area former that forms, if the area formationdeterminer determines that the person appearance area is to be formed,the person appearance area on the road.

With this configuration, whether to form a person appearance area, whichis a recognition target and in which a person will appear, on a road isdetermined. If it is determined that a person appearance area is to beformed, the person appearance area is formed on the road.

Since the person appearance area, in which a person will appear, isformed on the road, therefore, an autonomous moving body can recognizethat a person will appear by detecting the person appearance area formedon the road, even if it is difficult to directly detect the person.

A method for presenting a recognition target according to another aspectof the present disclosure is a method for presenting a recognitiontarget used in a recognition target presentation apparatus that presentsa recognition target recognizable by an autonomous moving body. Themethod includes determining whether to form a person appearance area,which is the recognition target and in which a person will appear, on aroad and forming, if it is determined that the person appearance area isto be formed, the person appearance area on the road.

With this configuration, whether to form a person appearance area, whichis a recognition target and in which a person will appear, on a road isdetermined. If it is determined that a person appearance area is to beformed, the person appearance area is formed on the road.

Since the person appearance area, in which a person will appear, isformed on the road, therefore, an autonomous moving body can recognizethat a person will appear by detecting the person appearance area formedon the road, even if it is difficult to directly detect the person.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments arespecific examples of the present disclosure and do not limit thetechnical scope of the present disclosure.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of anautonomous vehicle according to a first embodiment. An autonomousvehicle 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an autonomous driving system101, direction indicators 102, a vehicle control processor 103, a brakecontrol system 104, an accelerator control system 105, a steeringcontrol system 106, a vehicle navigation system 107, and a globalpositioning system (GPS) 108.

The autonomous vehicle 1 is a vehicle that autonomously runs and is anexample of an autonomous moving body. The autonomous vehicle 1 is anautomobile in the first embodiment, but the present disclosure is notparticularly limited to this. The autonomous vehicle 1 may be one ofvarious vehicles such as a motorcycle, a truck, a bus, a train, and aflying object, instead.

The autonomous driving system 101 includes a processor 111, a memory112, a user input unit 113, a presentation unit 114, and sensors 115.

The sensors 115 measure a surrounding environment and an internalenvironment of the autonomous vehicle 1. The sensor 115 include, forexample, a speedometer that measures the traveling speed of theautonomous vehicle 1, an accelerometer that measures the acceleration ofthe autonomous vehicle 1, a gyroscope that measures the direction of theautonomous vehicle 1, and an engine temperature sensor. The sensors 115are not limited to the above sensors.

The sensors 115 include a door open/close detection unit 31 and a camera32.

The door open/close detection unit 31 detects whether each of doors ofthe autonomous vehicle 1 is open or closed.

The camera 32 is an example of an image capture unit and arranged near arearview mirror of the autonomous vehicle 1. The camera 32 captures animage of a scene ahead of the autonomous vehicle 1. The camera 32 maycapture not only an image of a scene ahead of the autonomous vehicle 1but also images of surroundings of the autonomous vehicle 1, such asimages of scenes behind, to the right, and to the left of the autonomousvehicle 1.

The memory 112 is a computer-readable recording medium such as a harddisk drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), anoptical disc, or a semiconductor memory. The memory 112 stores anautonomous driving program 121 executed by the processor 111 and data122 used by the processor 111.

The data 122 includes map data 21 and coordinate conversion map data 22.The map data 21 includes topographic information, lane informationindicating driving lanes, intersection information indicatingintersections, and speed limit information indicating speed limits. Themap data 21 is not limited to the above pieces of information. Thecoordinate conversion map data 22 is a coordinate conversion map inwhich positions of pixels in an image captured by the camera 32 andpositions in actual space are associated with each other.

The processor 111 is a central processing unit (CPU), for example, andexecutes the autonomous driving program 121 stored in the memory 112.The processor 111 executes the autonomous driving program 121, in orderto cause the autonomous vehicle 1 to run autonomously. In addition, theprocessor 111 reads the data 122 from the memory 112, writes the data122 to the memory 112, and updates the data 122 stored in the memory112.

The autonomous driving program 121 causes the processor 111 to functionas a lane detection unit 11, an area formation determination unit 12, anarea detection unit 13, and a coordinate conversion unit 14.

The lane detection unit 11 recognizes lane-dividing lines on a road inan image captured by the camera 32 and detects a lane in which theautonomous vehicle 1 is running.

The area formation determination unit 12 determines whether to form aperson appearance area, which indicates a position at which a personwill appear, on a road. If the door open/close detection unit 31 detectsthat a door of the autonomous vehicle 1 is open, the area formationdetermination unit 12 determines that a person appearance area is to beformed.

The area detection unit 13 detects, in an image captured by the camera32, a person appearance area, in which a person will appear, formed byan area radiation section 41 on a road as a recognition target. The areadetection unit 13 learns a neural network having a multilayer structurethrough deep learning, and detects a person appearance area included ina captured image by inputting the captured image to the neutral network.

The coordinate conversion unit 14 converts coordinates in a capturedimage into coordinates in actual space using the coordinate conversionmap data 22.

The user input unit 113 receives various pieces of information from auser. The user input unit 113 includes, for example, buttons or a touchpanel.

The presentation unit 114 presents various pieces of information. If thearea formation determination unit 12 determines that a person appearancearea is to be formed, the presentation unit 114 forms the personappearance area on a road. In addition, if the area detection unit 13detects a person appearance area (recognition target), the presentationunit 114 presents, to a person, a result of recognition indicating thatthe autonomous vehicle 1 has recognized the person appearance area. Thepresentation unit 114 includes area radiation sections 41 and a laseremission section 42.

The area radiation sections 41 are arranged in a lower part of theautonomous vehicle 1 under doors. Each of the area radiation sections 41is arranged for one of the doors of the autonomous vehicle 1. If thearea formation determination unit 12 determines that a person appearancearea is to be formed, a corresponding one of the area radiation sections41 radiates light having a certain shape onto a road under a door thatis open, in order to form the person appearance area on the road. Theperson appearance area is, for example, rectangular. An area radiationsection 41 of a recognition target presentation apparatus radiates lightof a certain color detectable by the area detection unit 13 onto a roadto form a person appearance area.

The laser emission section 42 is arranged in a front part of theautonomous vehicle 1 and emits laser light to a person appearance areaahead of the autonomous vehicle 1. The laser emission section 42 mayemit laser light not only to a person appearance area ahead of theautonomous vehicle 1 but also to person appearance areas around theautonomous vehicle 1, such as person appearance areas behind, to theright, and to the left of the autonomous vehicle 1. The laser emissionsection 42 preferably emits laser light having the same shape as aperson appearance area to the person appearance area and laser lighthaving a linear shape onto the ground between the person appearance areaand the autonomous vehicle 1.

The laser emission section 42 emits laser light to a position of aperson appearance area converted by the coordinate conversion unit 14into coordinates in actual space. If the area detection unit 13identifies a direction of a person appearance area and a distancebetween the autonomous vehicle 1 and the person appearance area, thelaser emission section 42 may emit laser light to the ground at theposition of the person appearance area.

The laser emission section 42 emits laser light of a color differentfrom a color of a person appearance area to the person appearance areato change the color of the person appearance area. If a personappearance area is green and light emitted by the laser emission section42 is red, the person appearance area turns yellow when the laseremission section 42 emits the light to the person appearance area. Aperson getting out of a stationary autonomous vehicle 1, therefore, canunderstand that an approaching autonomous vehicle 1 has recognized aperson appearance area by taking a look at the person appearance areawhose color has changed from green to yellow.

The direction indicators 102 are devices for indicating a direction inwhich the autonomous vehicle 1 is turning. The vehicle control processor103 controls the autonomous vehicle 1. The brake control system 104slows down the autonomous vehicle 1. The accelerator control system 105accelerates the autonomous vehicle 1. The steering control system 106adjusts a direction in which the autonomous vehicle 1 travels. Thevehicle navigation system 107 determines and displays a route of theautonomous vehicle 1. The GPS 108 obtains a current position of theautonomous vehicle 1.

The processor 111 controls the direction and speed of the autonomousvehicle 1 on the basis of results of sensing performed by the sensors115, a result of detection performed by the lane detection unit 11, anda result of detection performed by the area detection unit 13. Theprocessor 111 accelerates the autonomous vehicle 1 using the acceleratorcontrol system 105, slows down the autonomous vehicle 1 using the brakecontrol system 104, and changes the direction of the autonomous vehicle1 using the steering control system 106.

If the area detection unit 13 detects a person appearance area, theprocessor 111 controls the autonomous vehicle 1 such that the autonomousvehicle 1 avoids the person appearance area or stops before the personappearance area.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the recognitiontarget presentation apparatus according to the first embodiment. Therecognition target presentation apparatus presents a recognition targetrecognizable by the autonomous vehicle 1 (autonomous moving body). Therecognition target presentation apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 includesthe area formation determination unit 12, the door open/close detectionunit 31, and the area radiation sections 41. The same components of therecognition target presentation apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 as thoseillustrated in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals, anddescription thereof is omitted.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a recognitionresult presentation apparatus according to the first embodiment. Therecognition result presentation apparatus presents a result ofrecognition of a recognition target presented by the recognition targetpresentation apparatus in a moving direction of the autonomous vehicle 1(autonomous moving body). The recognition result presentation apparatusillustrated in FIG. 3 includes the camera 32, the area detection unit13, the coordinate conversion unit 14, the laser emission section 42,and a coordinate conversion map data storage unit 221.

The same components of the recognition result presentation apparatusillustrated in FIG. 3 as those illustrated in FIG. 1 are given the samereference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. The coordinateconversion map data storage unit 221 includes the memory 112 illustratedin FIG. 1 and stores the coordinate conversion map data 22.

Next, the operation of the recognition target presentation apparatusaccording to the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the recognitiontarget presentation apparatus according to the first embodiment.

First, in step S1, the area formation determination unit 12 determineswhether to form a person appearance area, in which a person will appear,by radiating light onto a road. If the door open/close detection unit 31detects that a door of the autonomous vehicle 1 is open, the areaformation determination unit 12 determines that a person appearance areais to be formed. If the door open/close detection unit 31 detects thatthe doors of the autonomous vehicle 1 are closed, the area formationdetermination unit 12 determines that a person appearance area is not tobe formed.

If the area formation determination unit 12 determines that a personappearance area is to be formed (YES in step S1), a corresponding one ofthe area radiation sections 41, in step S2, radiates light having arectangular shape, for example, onto a road below the door that is opento form a person appearance area on the road. The process then returnsto step S1.

On the other hand, if the area formation determination unit 12determines that a person appearance area is not to be formed (NO in stepS1), the area radiation sections 41, in step S3, determine whether aperson appearance area has been formed. That is, if at least one of thearea radiation sections 41 has radiated light having a rectangular shapeonto the road below a corresponding one of the doors, the area radiationsections 41 determine that a person appearance area has been formed. Ifnot, the area radiation sections 41 determine that a person appearancearea has not been formed.

If the area radiation sections 41 determine that a person appearancearea has not been formed (NO in step S3), the process returns to stepS1.

On the other hand, if the area radiation sections 41 determine that aperson appearance area has been formed (YES in step S3), a correspondingone of the area radiation sections 41, in step S4, stops radiating therectangular light pattern onto the road below the corresponding one ofthe doors to remove the person appearance area. The process then returnsto step S1.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the formation of a personappearance area according to the first embodiment. As illustrated inFIG. 5, when the autonomous vehicle 1 stops at an edge of a road and aperson 2 gets out of the autonomous vehicle 1 through a door 301, acorresponding one of the area radiation sections 41 radiates lighthaving a rectangular shape, for example, onto the road below the door301 to form a person appearance area 302 on the road.

Next, the operation of the recognition result presentation apparatusaccording to the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the recognitionresult presentation apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7is a schematic diagram illustrating capture of an image, detection of aperson appearance area, and conversion of coordinates in the capturedimage according to the first embodiment. In the following description, astationary autonomous vehicle of which a person is getting out will bereferred to as an “autonomous vehicle 1 a”, and an autonomous vehicleapproaching the stationary autonomous vehicle 1 a from behind will bereferred to as an “autonomous vehicle 1 b”.

First, in step S11, the camera 32 captures an image 201 of a scene in amoving direction of the autonomous vehicle 1 b. In this case, the camera32 is arranged at a position at which the camera 32 can capture an imageof a scene ahead of the autonomous vehicle 1 b. When the autonomousvehicle 1 b is moving forward, it is preferable to use a camera providedin a front part of the autonomous vehicle 1 b, and when the autonomousvehicle 1 b is moving backward, it is preferable to use a cameraprovided in a rear part of the autonomous vehicle 1 b.

Next, in step S12, the area detection unit 13 obtains the image 201captured by the camera 32. The captured image 201 illustrated in FIG. 7includes the person appearance area 302.

Next, in step S13, the area detection unit 13 detects a personappearance area included in the captured image 201 obtained from thecamera 32. In FIG. 7, the area detection unit 13 detects the personappearance area 302 included in the captured image 201.

Next, in step S14, the coordinate conversion unit 14 determines whetherthe area detection unit 13 has detected a person appearance area fromthe captured image 201. If the coordinate conversion unit 14 determinesthat a person appearance area has not been detected (NO in step S14),the process returns to step S11.

On the other hand, if the coordinate conversion unit 14 determines thata person appearance area has been detected (YES in step S14), thecoordinate conversion unit 14, in step S15, converts coordinates in thecaptured image 201 into coordinates in actual space using the coordinateconversion map data 22. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the coordinateconversion unit 14 converts the coordinates in the captured image 201 togenerate an actual space image 203 corresponding to the coordinates inactual space.

Next, in step S16, the laser emission section 42 emits laser light tothe person appearance area 302 detected by the area detection unit 13.At this time, the laser emission section 42 identifies an actualposition of the person appearance area 302 on the basis of a coordinateposition of the person appearance area 302 in the actual space image 203obtained as a result of the conversion performed by the coordinateconversion unit 14 and emits laser light to the identified actualposition. The process then returns to step S11.

The processing in steps S11 to S16 continues while the autonomousvehicle 1 b is on.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 8,if the person appearance area 302 is detected, the laser emissionsection 42 emits laser light 211 having the same shape as the personappearance area 302 to the detected person appearance area 302 and laserlight 212 having a linear shape on the ground between the personappearance area 302 and the autonomous vehicle 1 b. The person 2,therefore, can understand whether the autonomous vehicle 1 b hasrecognized the person appearance area 302 under his/her feet anddetermine how to act against the autonomous vehicle 1 b, that is,whether to walk in front of the autonomous vehicle 1 b. Since the laserlight 212 having a linear shape is emitted to the ground between theperson appearance area 302 and the autonomous vehicle 1 b, the person 2can easily understand which autonomous vehicle has recognized the personappearance area 302 under his/her feet.

Although laser light is emitted to the person appearance area 302 in thefirst embodiment, the present disclosure is not particularly limited tothis. Light from another light source, such as a light-emitting diode,may be radiated onto the person appearance area 302, instead.

The presentation unit 114 may include a projector and radiate light (animage) from the projector onto the person appearance area 302. In thiscase, the projector preferably radiates light having a linear shape ontothe ground between the projector and the person appearance area 302.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a recognitiontarget according to a first modification of the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, one of the area radiation sections 41 forms theperson appearance area 302 by radiating, onto a road, light of a certaincolor detectable by the area detection unit 13. In the firstmodification of the first embodiment, however, one of the area radiationsections 41 forms a person appearance area 303 by radiating, onto aroad, light having a certain pattern detectable by the area detectionunit 13. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 9, one of the area radiationsections 41 forms the person appearance area 303 detectable by the areadetection unit 13 by radiating striped light onto a road. The areadetection unit 13 can easily detect the person appearance area 303 byrecognizing a striped part of a captured image.

In addition, in the first embodiment, one of the area radiation sections41 may form a person appearance area by radiating temporally changinglight detectable by the area detection unit 13 onto a road, instead.That is, one of the area radiation sections 41 may form a personappearance area detectable by the area detection unit 13 by radiatinglight having a certain shape and a certain color onto a road andflashing the light at certain time intervals. Alternatively, one of thearea radiation sections 41 may form a person appearance area detectableby the area detection unit 13 by radiating light having a certain shapeand a certain color onto a road and intermittently turning off thelight.

Furthermore, one of the area radiation sections 41 may form a personappearance area detectable by the area detection unit 13 by radiatinglight having a certain shape and a certain color onto a road andchanging a pattern of the radiated light at certain time intervals,instead. Alternatively, one of the area radiation sections 41 may form aperson appearance area detectable by the area detection unit 13 byradiating light having a certain shape onto a road and changing thecolor of the radiated light at certain time intervals.

In addition, in the first embodiment, one of the area radiation sections41 may form a person appearance area by radiating light other thanvisible light detectable by the area detection unit 13 onto a road,instead. The light other than visible light is, for example, infraredlight. In this case, the area detection unit 13 may detect the personappearance area by detecting the light other than visible light includedin a captured image.

In addition, in the first embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 1 mayfurther include a speaker that outputs a sound indicating that a personwill appear and a microphone that collects a sound indicating that aperson will appear.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to a second modification of the first embodiment.

In the second modification of the first embodiment, the laser emissionsection 42 projects, onto a person appearance area, an image including atext indicating that the autonomous vehicle 1 b has recognized theperson appearance area. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the laser emissionsection 42 projects an image including a text 213, namely “OK”, forexample, onto the person appearance area 302. As a result, the text 213,namely “OK”, is shown in the person appearance area 302, and the person2 can understand that the autonomous vehicle 1 b has recognized theperson appearance area 302 by taking a look at the text 213. The person2, therefore, can determine how to act against the autonomous vehicle 1b, that is, whether to walk in front of the autonomous vehicle 1 b.

The text projected onto the person appearance area 302 is not limited to“OK” illustrated in FIG. 10. Any text indicating that the autonomousvehicle 1 b has recognized the person appearance area 302 may beprojected, instead. Alternatively, a sign, a figure, or a drawing may beprojected onto the person appearance area 302 instead of a text.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to a third modification of the first embodiment.

In the third modification of the first embodiment, the laser emissionsection 42 projects, onto a person appearance area, an image including apattern indicating that the autonomous vehicle 1 b has recognized theperson appearance area. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the laser emissionsection 42 projects an image including a pattern 214 indicating acrosswalk, for example, onto the person appearance area 302. As aresult, the pattern 214 indicating a crosswalk is shown in the personappearance area 302, and the person 2 can understand that the autonomousvehicle 1 b has recognized the person appearance area 302 by taking alook at the pattern 214. The person 2, therefore, can determine how toact against the autonomous vehicle 1 b, that is, whether to walk infront of the autonomous vehicle 1 b.

The pattern projected onto the person appearance area 302 is not limitedto the crosswalk illustrated in FIG. 11. Any pattern indicating that theautonomous vehicle 1 b has recognized the person appearance area 302 maybe projected.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to a fourth modification of the first embodiment.

In the fourth modification of the first embodiment, the laser emissionsection 42 radiates light only within a part of a person appearance areaacross which the autonomous vehicle 1 b will run. As illustrated in FIG.12, the laser emission section 42 radiates light only within a part 215of the rectangular person appearance area 302 across which theautonomous vehicle 1 b will run. As a result, the color of the part 215of the person appearance area 302 across which the autonomous vehicle 1b will run changes. The person 2, therefore, can learn the part 215across which the autonomous vehicle 1 b will run, that is, an arearecognized by the autonomous vehicle 1 b.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to a fifth modification of the first embodiment.

In a fifth modification of the first embodiment, a recognition resultpresentation apparatus includes a display section 43 that is arranged ona front surface of the autonomous vehicle 1 b and that displays an imageindicating a person appearance area detected by the area detection unit13 in a distinguishable manner, instead of the coordinate conversionunit 14, the coordinate conversion map data storage unit 221, and thelaser emission section 42.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the display section 43 is a liquid crystaldisplay device, for example, and arranged on the front surface of theautonomous vehicle 1 b. The display section 43 is arranged at least onany of the front surface, a back surface, a right surface, and a leftsurface of the autonomous vehicle 1 b. The area detection unit 13detects the person appearance area 302 included in the captured image201. The display section 43 displays the detected person appearance area302 such that the color of the displayed person appearance area 302becomes different from an actual color. The display section 43 displaysin real time an image in which the color of the detected personappearance area 302 is different from the actual color. The person 2,therefore, can understand whether the autonomous vehicle 1 b hasrecognized the person appearance area 302 and determine how to actagainst the autonomous vehicle 1 b, that is, whether to walk in front ofthe autonomous vehicle 1 b.

The display section 43 preferably displays a laterally reversed image.In this case, the person appearance area 302 is displayed as if in amirror, and the person 2 can intuitively understand a result ofrecognition.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a result ofrecognition according to a sixth modification of the first embodiment.

In the sixth modification of the first embodiment, the recognitionresult presentation apparatus includes a sound output section 44 thatoutputs a certain sound in a direction in which a person appearance areaexists, instead of the coordinate conversion unit 14, the coordinateconversion map data storage unit 221, and the laser emission section 42.

As illustrated in FIG. 14, the sound output section 44 is a directionalspeaker, for example, and outputs a certain sound having directivity ina direction in which a detected person appearance area exists. Since asound output from the sound output section 44 has directivity, only theperson 2 can hear the sound. The person 2, therefore, can understandwhether the autonomous vehicle 1 b has recognized the person appearancearea 302 and determine how to act against the autonomous vehicle 1 b,that is, whether to walk in front of the autonomous vehicle 1 b.

Although the recognition target presentation apparatus forms a personappearance area on a road under the feet of a person who is getting outof the autonomous vehicle 1 a in the first embodiment, the presentdisclosure is not particularly limited to this. For example, therecognition target presentation apparatus may form a person appearancearea on a road under the feet of a person who is going out of a buildingaround an intersection or the like, instead.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a process for presenting a recognitiontarget according to a seventh modification of the first embodiment. Inthe seventh modification of the first embodiment, the door open/closedetection unit 31 of the recognition target presentation apparatusdetects whether a door at an entrance of a building 501 is open orclosed.

If the door open/close detection unit 31 detects that the door of thebuilding 501 is open, the area formation determination unit 12determines that a person appearance area 502 is to be formed. If thedoor open/close detection unit 31 detects that the door of the building501 is closed, the area formation determination unit 12 determines thatthe person appearance area 502 is not to be formed.

An area radiation section 41 is provided at the entrance of the building501 and radiates light having a rectangular shape, for example, onto aroad under the open door to form the person appearance area 502 on theroad. The area detection unit 13 of the autonomous vehicle 1 thendetects the person appearance area 502 included in the image 201captured by the camera 32. The laser emission section 42 emits laserlight to the person appearance area 502 detected by the area detectionunit 13.

The person appearance area 502 can thus be formed under the feet of nota person getting out of a vehicle but a person getting out of abuilding, in order to cause the autonomous vehicle 1 to recognize theperson appearance area 502. The person 2, therefore, can understandwhether the autonomous vehicle 1 has recognized the person appearancearea 502 and determine how to act against the autonomous vehicle 1, thatis, whether to walk in front of the autonomous vehicle 1.

Alternatively, the area detection unit 13 may detect a plurality ofperson appearance areas in a captured image. If a plurality of personappearance areas are detected, the laser emission section 42 may radiatelight onto the plurality of detected person appearance areas.Alternatively, if a plurality of person appearance areas are detected,the display section 43 may display an image in which the plurality ofdetected person appearance areas have different colors. Alternatively,if a plurality of person appearance areas are detected, the sound outputsection 44 may output a sound for each of the plurality of detectedperson appearance areas.

In addition, in the first embodiment, the presentation unit 114 mayinclude at least one of the laser emission section 42, the displaysection 43, and the sound output section 44. That is, two or all ofpresentation of a result of recognition performed by the laser emissionsection 42, presentation of a result of recognition performed by thedisplay section 43, and presentation of a result of recognitionperformed by the sound output section 44 may be combined with eachother.

In addition, although a vehicle of which a person is getting out is anautonomous vehicle in the first embodiment, the present disclosure isnot particularly limited to this. The vehicle of which a person isgetting out may be a vehicle operated by a driver, instead. It issufficient that the vehicle is provided with the recognition targetpresentation apparatus.

In addition, although the area formation determination unit 12determines that a person appearance area is to be formed if the dooropen/close detection unit 31 detects that a door is open in the firstembodiment, the present disclosure is not particularly limited to this.The area formation determination unit 12 may determine that a personappearance area is to be formed if it is detected that an autonomousvehicle is off, instead.

In addition, in the first embodiment, if the door open/close detectionunit 31 detects that a door is closed after the door open/closedetection unit 31 detects that the door is open and the area formationdetermination unit 12 determines that a person appearance area is to beformed, the area formation determination unit 12 may determine that aperson appearance area is to remain formed until a certain period oftime elapses after the door open/close detection unit 31 detects thatthe door is closed, instead. As a result, the person appearance arearemains formed until the certain period of time elapses after the dooris closed, and a person can safely walk in front of the autonomousvehicle 1 b.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a recognitionresult presentation apparatus according to a second embodiment. Therecognition result presentation apparatus illustrated in FIG. 16includes the camera 32, the area detection unit 13, the coordinateconversion unit 14, a danger determination unit 15, a presentationmethod determination unit 16, the presentation unit 114, and thecoordinate conversion map data storage unit 221.

The configuration of an autonomous vehicle according to the secondembodiment is the same as that of the autonomous vehicle 1 illustratedin FIG. 1 except that the autonomous vehicle according to the secondembodiment further includes the danger determination unit 15 and thepresentation method determination unit 16 in the autonomous drivingprogram 121. The same components of the recognition result presentationapparatus illustrated in FIG. 16 as those illustrated in FIG. 1 or 3 aregiven the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

The danger determination unit 15 determines a degree of danger in aperson appearance area detected by the area detection unit 13. Thedegree of danger is either a first degree of danger or a second degreeof danger, which is lower than the first degree of danger. The dangerdetermination unit 15 estimates a distance between the autonomousvehicle 1 and a person appearance area, for example, on the basis of acaptured image, and if the estimated distance is equal to or smallerthan a certain distance, the danger determination unit 15 determinesthat the degree of danger is the first degree of danger, which meansthat the person appearance area is dangerous. If the estimated distanceis larger than the certain distance, the danger determination unit 15determines that the degree of danger is the second degree of danger,which means that the person appearance area is not dangerous.

The presentation method determination unit 16 determines a presentationmethod in accordance with a degree of danger determined by the dangerdetermination unit 15. The presentation method determination unit 16uses different colors for laser light depending on whether the degree ofdanger determined by the danger determination unit 15 is the firstdegree of danger or the second degree of danger. For example, if thedanger determination unit 15 determines that the degree of danger is thefirst degree of danger, the presentation method determination unit 16selects a presentation method in which laser light is red, and if thedanger determination unit 15 determines that the degree of danger is thesecond degree of danger, the presentation method determination unit 16selects a presentation method in which laser light is blue.

The presentation unit 114 presents a result of recognition in accordancewith a presentation method determined by the presentation methoddetermination unit 16. The presentation unit 114 includes at least oneof the laser emission section 42, the display section 43, and the soundoutput section 44.

If the presentation method determination unit 16 selects thepresentation method in which laser light is red, for example, the laseremission section 42 emits red laser light to a person appearance area ofthe first degree of danger detected by the area detection unit 13. Ifthe presentation method determination unit 16 selects the presentationmethod in which laser light is blue, for example, the laser emissionsection 42 emits blue laser light to a person appearance area of thesecond degree of danger detected by the area detection unit 13. As aresult, a person can learn the degree of danger in a person appearancearea on the basis of the color of laser light emitted.

Alternatively, if the danger determination unit 15 determines that thedegree of danger is the first degree of danger, the presentation methoddetermination unit 16 may select a presentation method in which a personappearance area turns red, and if the danger determination unit 15determines that the degree of danger is the second degree of danger, thepresentation method determination unit 16 may select a presentationmethod in which a person appearance area turns blue. If the presentationmethod determination unit 16 selects the presentation method in which aperson appearance area turns red, the laser emission section 42 mayemit, to a person appearance area of the first degree of danger detectedby the area detection unit 13, laser light of a color with which theperson appearance area turns red. If the presentation methoddetermination unit 16 selects the presentation method in which a personappearance area turns blue, the laser emission section 42 may emit, to aperson appearance area of the second degree of danger detected by thearea detection unit 13, laser light of a color with which the personappearance area turns blue.

Alternatively, if the presentation method determination unit 16 selectsthe presentation method in which laser light is red, for example, thelaser emission section 42 may emit red laser light having a certainshape to a person appearance area of the first degree of danger detectedby the area detection unit 13 while emitting red laser light having alinear shape to the ground between the person appearance area and theautonomous vehicle. If the presentation method determination unit 16selects the presentation method in which laser light is blue, forexample, the laser emission section 42 may emit blue laser light havinga certain shape to a person appearance area of the second degree ofdanger detected by the area detection unit 13 while emitting blue laserlight having a linear shape to the ground between the person appearancearea and the autonomous vehicle.

Alternatively, the presentation method determination unit 16 may usedifferent sounds depending on whether the degree of danger determined bythe danger determination unit 15 is the first degree of danger or thesecond degree of danger. For example, if the danger determination unit15 determines that the degree of danger is the first degree of danger,the presentation method determination unit 16 selects a presentationmethod in which a first sound is output, and if the danger determinationunit 15 determines that the degree of danger is the second degree ofdanger, the presentation method determination unit 16 selects apresentation method in which a second sound is output. If thepresentation method in which the first sound is output is determined,the sound output section 44 may output the first sound to a personappearance area of the first degree of danger detected by the areadetection unit 13. If the presentation method in which the second soundis output is determined, the sound output section 44 may output thesecond sound to a person appearance area of the second degree of dangerdetected by the area detection unit 13.

Alternatively, for example, if the danger determination unit 15determines that the degree of danger is the first degree of danger, thepresentation method determination unit 16 selects a presentation methodin which a detected person appearance area turns red, and if the dangerdetermination unit 15 determines that the degree of danger is the seconddegree of danger, the presentation method determination unit 16 selectsa presentation method in which a detected person appearance turns blue.If the presentation method determination unit 16 selects thepresentation method in which a detected person appearance turns red, thedisplay section 43 may display an image in which the person appearancearea of the first degree of danger detected by the area detection unit13 is red. If the presentation method determination unit 16 selects thepresentation method in which a detected person appearance turns blue,the display section 43 may display an image in which the personappearance area of the second degree of danger detected by the areadetection unit 13 is blue.

In addition, if the area detection unit 13 detects a plurality of personappearance areas, the danger determination unit 15 may determine thedegree of danger of each of the plurality of person appearance areasdetected by the area detection unit 13. The presentation unit 114 maythen present a result of recognition of a person appearance area havingthe highest degree of danger first among the plurality of personappearance areas. If the area detection unit 13 detects a plurality ofperson appearance areas, for example, the danger determination unit 15estimates a distance between the autonomous vehicle 1 and each of theplurality of person appearance areas on the basis of a captured imageand determines that the degree of danger of a person appearance areaclosest to the autonomous vehicle 1 is the highest. The presentationunit 114 then gives the person appearance area having the highest degreeof danger among the plurality of person appearance areas priority inpresenting a result of recognition.

If the number of laser beams that can be emitted by the laser emissionsection 42 at once is limited, for example, the laser emission section42 may give a person appearance areas having the highest degree ofdanger among a plurality of person appearance areas priority in emittinglaser light.

In addition, if the laser emission section 42 is capable of emitting twolaser beams at once, the laser emission section 42 may emit the laserbeams to a person appearance area having the highest degree of dangerand a person appearance area having the second highest degree of dangeramong a plurality of person appearance areas. At this time, the twolaser beams preferably have different colors.

In addition, if the number of sounds that can be output by the soundoutput section 44 at once is limited, for example, the sound outputsection 44 may give a person appearance area having the highest degreeof danger among a plurality of person appearance areas priority inoutputting a sound.

In addition, if the sound output section 44 is capable of outputting twosounds at once, the sound output section 44 may output the sounds to aperson appearance area having the highest degree of danger and a personappearance area having the second highest degree of danger among aplurality of person appearance areas. At this time, the two sounds arepreferably different from each other.

In addition, in the first and second embodiment, some of the componentsof the recognition result presentation apparatus may be included in aserver that can communicate with the recognition result presentationapparatus through a network, instead.

In the present disclosure, some or all of the units, the apparatuses,the members, or the sections, or some or all of the function blocksillustrated in the block diagrams may be achieved by one or a pluralityof electronic circuits including a semiconductor device, a semiconductorintegrated circuit (IC), or a large-scale integration (LSI) circuit. TheLSI circuit or the IC may be fabricated on a single chip, or may befabricated by combining a plurality of chips. The function blocks otherthan the storage device, for example, may be integrated on a singlechip. Although the terms “LSI” and “IC” are used here, the terms usedchange depending on a degree of integration, and “system LSI”,“very-large-scale integration”, or “ultra-large-scale integration” maybe used, instead. A field-programmable-gate array (FPGA), which isprogrammed after an LSI circuit is fabricated, and a reconfigurablelogic device, which is capable of reconfiguring connections inside anLSI circuit or setting up circuit sections inside an LSI circuit, can beused for the same purposes.

Furthermore, some or all of the functions or the operations of theunits, the apparatuses, the members, or the sections can be achieved bya software process. In this case, software is recorded on one or aplurality of non-transitory recording media such as a ROM, an opticaldisc, or a hard disk drive, and a function specified by the software isexecuted by a processor and peripheral devices when the software isexecuted by the processor. A system or an apparatus may include one or aplurality of non-transitory recording media on which the software isrecorded, the processor, and a necessary hardware device, such as aninterface.

The recognition result presentation apparatus and a method forpresenting a result of recognition in the present disclosure are capableof accurately recognizing that a person will appear on a road andcertainly notifying the person that an autonomous moving body hasrecognized a place where the person will appear and effective as arecognition result presentation apparatus and a method for presenting aresult of recognition that present a result of recognition of arecognition target presented by a recognition target presentationapparatus in a moving direction of an autonomous moving body.

What is claimed is:
 1. A first apparatus to be mounted on a firstautonomous moving body, the first apparatus comprising: a processor; anda memory storing a computer program, which, when executed by theprocessor, causes the processor to perform operations including:detecting, via a camera mounted on the first autonomous moving body,first light that is radiated on a road by a second apparatus which isincluded in a second autonomous moving body, the first light indicatinga first area to which a person will get out of the second autonomousmoving body, and presenting, to the person, information indicating thatthe first autonomous moving body has recognized the first area.
 2. Thefirst apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presenting includesradiating second light as the information toward the first light on theroad.
 3. The first apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in theradiating, the second light has a linear shape extending between thefirst light and the first autonomous moving body.
 4. The first apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein in the radiating, a color of the secondlight is different from a color of the first light.
 5. The firstapparatus according to claim 2, wherein in the radiating, the secondlight projects, onto the road, an image including a text indicating thatthe first autonomous moving body has recognized the first area.
 6. Thefirst apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in the radiating, thesecond light projects, onto the road, an image including a patternindicating that the first autonomous moving body has recognized thefirst area.
 7. The first apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in theradiating, the second light is radiated only within a second area acrosswhich the first autonomous moving body will run.
 8. The first apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein in the radiating, the second light atleast partially overlaps the first light on the road.
 9. The firstapparatus according to claim 2, wherein in the radiating, the secondlight has a same shape as the first light on the road.
 10. The firstapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presenting includesoutputting a predetermined sound to the person.
 11. The first apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the operations further include capturingan image of a scene in a moving direction of the first autonomous movingbody, wherein, the detecting includes specifying the first areaindicated by the first light from the captured image and the presentingincludes displaying, on a front surface of the first autonomous movingbody, at least a portion, which includes the first area, of the capturedimage.
 12. The first apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the firstlight has a predetermined pattern detectable by the first apparatus inthe detecting.
 13. The first apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thefirst light is temporally changing light detectable by the firstapparatus in the detecting.
 14. A method performed by a processormounted on a first autonomous moving body, the method comprising:detecting, via a camera mounted on the first autonomous moving body,light that is radiated on a road by an apparatus which is included in asecond autonomous moving body, the light indicating an area to which aperson will get out of the second autonomous moving body; andpresenting, to the person, information indicating that the firstautonomous moving body has recognized the area.